Recommended courses
Lying just east of Kumamoto’s downtown area, the area around Suizenji Jojuen Garden and Lake Ezu is a great place for a bike ride.
For this course, we’d like to show you a recommended route for riding around Suizenji Jojuen Garden and Lake Ezu. To start, we rented some electric bicycles from the Kumamoto City International Center.
START
20 min by bicycle
Suizenji Jojuen Garden
First up is Suizenji Jojuen Garden, a traditional Japanese garden. The omotesando (main street leading into the garden) features a variety of old souvenir stores and restaurants. The garden celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2021.
A kimono rental shop is located on the Suizenji omotesando. They have kimono and yukata in all kinds of sizes and colors, so make sure to take a good look at what they have to find the one you like best!
Now that we’re all dressed, it’s time to get our tickets
and a map and head into the garden.
Suizenji Jojuen Garden was built by the Hosokawa clan who ruled over the province of Higo (modern-day Kumamoto) in the early seventeenth century. This garden is a traditional strolling garden centered around a crystal-clear, spring-fed pond.
Kokindenju no Ma
Just inside Suizenji Jojuen Garden and to the right stands Kokindenju no Ma, an authentic teahouse relocated to Kumamoto from Kyoto in 1912. You can order either matcha or coffee and a sweet, and can sit either outside or inside on the tatami floors.
Izumi Shrine
The northern side of the park is where you’ll find Izumi Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the Hosokawa family that ruled over Kumamoto for centuries. The main stone torii gate was destroyed in 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes, but a new wooden one was erected in its place in 2020. Inside are omikuji fortunes, ema wish tablets, and omamori charms for sale. If your fortune is less than what you hoped for, you can tie it together with the other fortunes!
Suizenji Jojuen Garden hosts other events throughout the year, including yabusame (horseback archery) and noh theater. Check out our article here for more details.
After our walk through Suizenji, let’s head over to Lake Ezu for a lakeside bike ride. We found a helpful sightseeing sign to point us in the right direction.
If you see one of these signs while you’re out and about, be sure to download the COCOAR app and scan it to get
interesting information about the locations on the sign.
「App Store」「Google Play」
Lake Ezu: A Spring-Fed
Oasis in the City
A ride of about 5 minutes gets us to Lake Ezu. Lake Ezu is fed from underground springs around Suizenji and the Lake Ezu area. Upper Ezu is closer to Suizenji and is where you’ll find boats for rent. Lower Ezu is a bit further south and has more open space and proper bike paths. You can even see the elephants in the Kumamoto Zoological and Botanical Gardens from the lake!
Locals enjoy family picnics or going for a run at Ezu. There are also a number of interesting shops and tasty cafes in the area. Now it’s time for lunch!
Kumamoto Ramen
Just a short bike ride from Lake Ezu is Ajisen Ramen’s first ramen shop, right next to the Kumamoto Prefectural Offices. The same Ajisen ramen you can find all around the world all started out from this shop. Ajisen is famous for its garlicky Kumamoto ramen topped with mayu—a fragrant oil made from heavily roasted garlic.
Statue of
Monkey D. Luffy
Right next to Ajisen is the Kumamoto Prefectural Offices, where you’ll find a heroically posed statue of Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy is the main character of the world-famous One Piece manga and anime.
Do you know the word genki? It means “healthy” or “energetic.” After the Kumamoto Earthquakes of 2016, Kumamoto was in a bad state. In response, the creator of One Piece Eiichiro Oda teamed up with Kumamoto to set up statues of One Piece characters throughout the prefecture. The first statue was of Luffy. Now there are a total of 9 statues (one of which—Chopper—is also in Kumamoto City), with a 10th planned for July 2022. Manga fans come from all around the visit the statues and help bring some of Kumamoto’s genki back.
After our visit with Luffy, how about a mid-afternoon coffee and snack?
Just a 7-minute bike ride from the Luffy Statue is the coffee shop.
Café Break
There is Gluck Coffee Spot in a residential neighborhood next to Suizenji Jojuen Garden. In addition to beans, specialty drip coffee, and espresso-based drinks, Gluck Coffee Spot also offers a selection of tasty treats made at their sister shop. It’s a popular spot with both indoor and outdoor seating.
After our coffee break, we headed back to the International Center to return our bikes s till with plenty of juice left in the batteries!
For more ideas on what to see and do in Kumamoto City, check out our sightseeing course for Kumamoto Castle and the historic Furumachi neighborhood !
